Sen. Murphy vs. Trump's corruption | Today, Explained

President Donald Trump’s blatant, sometimes open corruption can feel disorienting. While other White Houses have made a point to show their administration is not for sale, this one has seemingly done the opposite — making a big show of their transactional relationship with corporations, Silicon Valley, and other governments, given the right price. This kind of pay-to-play politics was the focus of a recent forum in Washington, DC, hosted by the American Economic Liberties Project, a think tank focused on corporate consolidation, breaking up monopolies, and accountability for rogue businesses. It’s also an interest of Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who has made this anti-corruption a focus of his message and policy proposals since the 2024 election. Vox’s Astead Herndon interviewed Sen. Murphy at this live event. He asked about the effectiveness of this message, what role the Democratic Party also plays in Washington’s current culture of open corruption, and if there's anything the public can do to push back. Today, Explained publishes video episodes every Saturday tackling key issues in politics and culture. Subscribe to Vox’s YouTube channel to get them. New episodes of Today, Explained drop every day of the week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app. If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom. 00:00 Intro 00:50 Has the Trump admin changed the definition of corruption? 02:48 How is Trump’s transactionalism different? 06:36 Prediction markets problem 09:58 Corruption v. corporate consolidation 12:10 Dems’ responsibility for corruption 17:08 Whether there will be constraints on corruption Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out h